Injured Siobhan Haughey pulls out of World Aquatics Championships in Singapore
Haughey was expected to compete for her sixth world title at the Singapore Sports Hub when the swimming leg kicks off on Sunday.
The 27-year-old has only competed in one international tournament since taking a four-month break at the beginning of the year and said she had 'to do what is best for me'.
'I have pulled out of the World Championships in Singapore due to an ongoing back injury,' Haughey wrote on her Instagram story. 'I'm sad to miss out on the opportunity to compete against the best in the world, but right now I have to do what's best for me.
'As elite athletes, we're trained to push through the pain and fatigue to keep going. Yet at certain moments, the brave and hard thing to do is to take care of your body and wait patiently. Luckily, I have an incredible team supporting me.
'I can't wait to be back racing on the world stage again. But in the meantime, I will be cheering for the Hong Kong team and my friends from afar. Hope to see you all at the pool soon again.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
21 minutes ago
- South China Morning Post
Ex-Hong Kong athlete swims 360km around Swedish island as part of mental health fight
A former Hong Kong athlete, who said the city was where he 'fell in love with open-water swimming', has swum 360 kilometres around a Swedish island as part of his battle with mental health and to raise awareness of the issue and for nature conservation. Karl Palmqvist, a Swedish national who trained with the Hong Kong Sports Institute's triathlon national development squad as a teenager, completed the 21-day swim around Gotland, Sweden's largest island, on Thursday. But the mammoth achievement comes two years after he was at his 'absolute lowest' following years of injuries, an identity crisis and the constant pressure to perform. 'The way sports are nowadays, you push kids so early on that it's almost the only thing that they're banking on, or in my case, such a big part of my identity,' Palmqvist said. 'And then, when you've almost gone professional or been elite within your sport, and then it's taken away from you due to injuries or mental burnout, we're just left there floating on our own without any tools to be able to work through it. Karl Palmqvist checked himself into a psychiatric ward but has since pulled through. Photo: Anders Klapp Palmqvist moved to Shanghai when he was three years old and relocated to Hong Kong aged 10. He lived in the city for five years before returning to Sweden.
South China Morning Post
12 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Karateka Grace Lau ‘cool' about carrying Hong Kong's gold medal hopes at World Games
World No 1 Grace Lau Mo-sheung said she had this year mastered how to perform at her level amid all the accolades, and that her status as a world-leading athlete was no longer putting her under pressure during competition. Advertisement Speaking on Monday ahead of the second World Games of her career next month, the karateka also said the multi-sport event was a competition she cared about. 'I was learning how to deal with my No 1 title last year as I truly felt the pressure,' she said. 'I am all good this year, and after what I have learned, I won't repeat the mistakes of the past and let them drag me down. 'I have felt fine this year, and I knew that I was not bothered any more given my performance in the Premier League and the Asian Championships.' With three Premier League victories in four outings and a regional title – her third straight – since the start of the year, Hongkonger Lau said she was 'cool' about being the city's gold medal hope in Chengdu. The Hong Kong delegation received its World Games send-off on Monday. Photo: Handout 'It's not about any extra pressure or motivation now, I just need to perform at my standard [and the results will take care of themselves],' said the Olympic medallist, who won a bronze in Tokyo in 2021.
HKFP
15 hours ago
- HKFP
Defending champ Siobhan Haughey out of swimming worlds with injury
Four-time Olympic medallist Siobhan Haughey pulled out of the World Aquatic Championships in Singapore with a back injury on Monday, leaving the Hong Kong swimmer unable to defend her women's 200m freestyle title. The 27-year-old Haughey won freestyle silver in the 100m and 200m at the Tokyo Games in 2021 and took bronze in the same two events in Paris last year. 'I have pulled out of the world championships in Singapore due to an ongoing back injury,' Haughey posted on social media on Monday. 'I'm sad to miss out on the opportunity to compete against the best in the world, but right now I have to do what's best for me,' said Haughey, who took a four-month break from the sport at the beginning of this year and has only competed once since. 'As elite athletes, we're trained to push through the pain and fatigue to keep going,' she wrote. 'Yet at certain moments, the brave and hard thing to do is to take care of your body and wait patiently. Luckily I have an incredible team supporting me.' Haughey also won the 200m freestyle at the Doha world championships last year. She had been entered in the 100m and 200m free at the World Aquatic Championships in Singapore, where the pool swimming events will take place from July 27 to August 3.
